ABA TECHSHOW turned 40 this year, and what a celebration it was. The conference moved to McCormick Place in Chicago, drawing record attendance and a packed schedule full of sessions on AI, legal tech, and practical tools for modern law practice.

One of the biggest highlights (and the best-attended session of the week) was “Soaring with Copilot,” where Ben Schorr from Microsoft and I showed the attendees how Microsoft 365 Copilot is changing the way lawyers work. Ben covered everything from prompt strategies to productivity hacks, and the response was overwhelming!

Another crowd favorite was the “40 Tech Tips in 40 Years” session. This high-energy presentation brought together past TECHSHOW chairs, including our own Jim Calloway, to share their favorite tech tips, old and new. From floppy disks to facial recognition, it was a fun and fast-paced walk-through legal tech history with plenty of practical takeaways for today’s practitioners. Past Techshow Chairs Reflect-on-Evolution-of-Technology

Saturday’s judicial panel also left a strong impression. Judges Ashleigh Parker and Timothy Driscoll offered a candid look at how generative AI is being used in courtrooms, and the ethical responsibilities that come with it. My TECHSHOW co-chair, Steve Embry, captured the spirit of that session and the overall event in his article, ABA TECHSHOW 2025: A Landmark Event That Highlights the Power of Team. You can read it on TechLaw Crossroads.

Everything wasn’t perfect, though. The new venue was so large that the empty entrance areas made the show feel a bit less attended than it actually was. Bob Ambrogi shared that observation and more in his recap: Marking its 40th Anniversary in a New Venue ABA TECHSHOW Experiences Growing Pains

All in all, it was a great year for TECHSHOW and a strong reminder of how quickly things are changing in the legal technology world.